1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vertical processing vessels, which are commonly referred to as shaft or vertical kilns, shaft furnaces or shaft generators, depending upon the process for which the vessel is being used, and, more particularly, to an improved system for delivering treating fluid to the vessel.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
A common form of processing equipment found in diverse industrial applications is a vertical vessel, having a gravity flow of particulate solids from an upper feed to a lower discharge. Commonly, such vessels are called shaft or vertical kilns, shaft furnaces, shaft generators and the like, depending upon the application and particular type of material being treated. Such vessels have been found useful for burning or calcining treatment such as the calcining of various types of materials to produce lime, coking coal, burning magnesite and/or dolomite, retorting oil shale, etc. Such vessels commonly include a vertical vessel shell, means for uniformly feeding granular or pulverulent material across the lateral extend of the vessel, a lower discharge means for providing a uniform discharge of the solid material from the vessel shell and some means for introducing treating fluids into the solids so that the solid material is treated in accordance with the predesigned process. A prevalent issue in the proper functioning of such vessels is the uniform distribution of the treating fluids across the transverse cross-section of the vessel to obtain uniform treatment.
Typically, such vessels have main fluid delivery tubes extending laterally across the width of the vessel with spaced delivery nozzles along the length of the tubes. The tubes typically extend in parallel relationship along chords of the vessel. To compliment these main delivery tubes, secondary arcuate delivery tubes are sometimes mounted in the cylindrical wall of the vessel to deliver fluid along the perimeter of the vessel but the fluid from the arcuate delivery tubes sometimes will not penetrate far enough into the interior of the vessel to compliment the main delivery tubes.
It will, therefore, be appreciated that obtaining a uniform distribution of treating fluids across the interior of the vessel has been a problem which adversely affects the results of the treating system and it is to address this problem that the present invention has been developed.